Ironing table top



April 24,1951 H, A 2,550,051

IRONING TABLE-TOP Filed Oct. 29, 1947 IN VEN TOR. /0,e,4c 5. FAY

ATTOk/VFVS Patented Apr. 24, 1951 IRONING TABLE TOP Horace B. Fay, Willoughby, Ohio, assignor to Gridiron Steel Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application October 29, 1947, Serial No. 782,919

2 Claims.

The present invention, relating as indicated to an ironing table top, is more particularly directed to a new light weight, metallic ironing table top made from a single, continuous and regularly deformed sheet that serves both as an ironing surface, when covered with a suitable pad, and as a structural member of the assembly.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a metal ironing table top made from a single deformed sheet that may be attached to any of a Variety of legs or stands in such a manner that a smooth ironing surface with suificient structural strength and rigidity can be produced at the lowest cost and least weight.

A further object is to make use of a single, continuous metal sheet by deforming or corrugating the sheet in a regular but staggered conformation of only slight depth so as to give structural strength to the top sheet Without making it so rough that it cannot be used as an ironing surface.

A further object is to provide an ironing surface with the minimum structural weight while at the same time providing a surface strong enough for ironing. For the purpose of this application a deformed sheet is defined as one containing depressions out of the normal plane of the sheet in some regular but staggered conformation such as buttons, corrugations or diamond shape depressions in such a manner that no straight line can be drawn from side to side, end to end or side toend without passing through a series of depressions.

It has been found that a perfectly flat or smooth surface is not necessary in ironing Where the usual pad is being used. This surface need not be smooth and in having a deformed sheet it is possible to provide greater structural strength in a single sheet. The indentations in this deformed sheet would then be filled or bridged by the body of the ironing pad, without forming any exact corresponding depressions in the pad sufficient in width or depth to mark the clothes.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims; the annexed drawings and the following description setting forth in detail certain structure embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various structural forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

Fig. l is a plan view of an ironing table top with a portion of the top sheet removed showing the ribs; V

Fig. 2 show a fragmentary cross-section of Fig. 1 along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Figs.'3 and 4 are cross-sections of other forms of an ironing table, showing various alternate forms of construction, including types of edges, rib construction and surface sheets, and v Fig. 5 is a plan View of portions of an ironing table surface showing diamond shaped indentations on the left side and the same indentations with ventilated holes on the right side Referring moreparticularly'to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows an ironing table top indicated generally at I0 with an ordinary tapered nose portion 22 having a rounded end 23. The butt end of the board 24 is flat except for the rounded corners 25. The tabletop comprises a metal sheet reinforced by longitudinally extending ribs I2. The sheet I0 is deformed or indented in a regular but staggered conformation of buttons or dimples that have been pressed or rolled from the normal plane of the sheet as is clearly shown in Fig. 2. The sheet will be deformed over'its entire area except for a marginal portion. However, in the drawings only a portion is shown having deformations. The sheet I0 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 consists of buttons or dimples I3 pressed or rolled out of the plane of the sheet in the form of a hemisphere arranged in a staggered pattern so that there is no continuous line unbroken by a series of deformations or buttons. These deformations extend over the entire top sheet of the board to a point very near the edge of the board.

The buttons or deformations according to the invention may be pressed or rolled out of the normal plane of the sheet and may be in total thickness up to fifteen times the thickness of the sheet or in practice in the art not more than one-half an inch in thickness.

The deformations I3 in the sheet consist of alternate raised portions 30 and depressed portions 3|. Planes passing through the extremes of the depressed and the raised portion will be separated by a distance equal to fifteen times the thickness of the sheet or one-half an inch at the most.

In one form of the invention the edge of the sheet I I is turned down by rolling or bending to form a flange I4 which extends completely around the outside perimeter of the board. The lower edge of flange I4 is rolled about a stiffening wire 29. This stiifens the outer flange of the board and provides a distinct lip with a smooth edge convenient for securing a top pad to the surface.

The sheet I and the ribs I2 are then securely fastened together at a number of points along the flanges 26 and 21 by spot welding or riveting. This construction of a deformed sheet and a supporting rib then make a stiff supporting structure capable of supporting the weight and pressure of ironing without substantial flexing.

As alternate constructions for stiffening the board about its edges, in Fig. 3 there 'is shown a sheet having a deep vertical flange 32 with a tubular end portion enclosing a solid rod I5. Still another form of construction is shown in Fig. 4 wherein the periphery is formed over a tubular structure 33. In Fig. 3 the rod l5 would add a greater weight and less rigidity than the hollow tube 16 of Fig. 4. Both would provide a rigid or semi-rigid flange to strengthen and.- support the edge of the board to prevent it from buckling under a heavy weight on the nose portion 22.

Referring now to Fig. 5 there is shown two other types of roughened or deformed sheets Illa and I0!) serving both as structural assembly members and as an ironing surface. The section of sheet shown on the left side of Fig. 5 has diamond shaped indentations that are slightly staggered so there is no' unbroken straight line remaining undeformed. These deformations in general are shallower than the deformations'of Fig. 1 and may be more readily bridged and filled by'the ironing pad- The section of the sheet shown on the right side of Fig. 5 is deformed similarly to that of sheet but in addition it is perforated in the approximate center of the indentations to permit the evaporation of moisture in the pad. These surface constructions can be fitted with any number of flanges 0r rib construction.

In Fig. 1 there is illustrated a plurality of parallel ribs l2 in this case three extending from the butt 24 of the board to the nose 23. These are approximately equally spaced and extend under the entire surface. The form of ribs I have chosen to illustrate is channeled ribs. They are composed of a lower flat horizontal portion 19 shown in Fig. 2 on the underside of the board and two vertical wall sections 20 and 21 connected to the flange sections 26 and 21 extending laterally under the sheet.

I therefore particularly point out and claim as my invention:

1. A metal ironing table top comprising a single sheet of relatively thin sheet metal of the order of thickness heretofore used in two and three sheet tops and of a thickness insufficient to resist ordinary ironing pressures without substantial yield, and having a series of uniformly distributed relatively small deformations out of the normal plane of the sheet, said deformations serving to stiffen said sheet against bending in an area equal to the area of an ordinary iron, and having at least one longitudinally disposed rib connected to said sheet substantially parallel to its central longitudinal axis to stiffen said sheet against longitudinal bending under normal ironing loads.

' 2. A metal ironing table top comprising a single sheet of relatively thin sheet metal of the order of thickness heretofore used in two and three sheet tops and of a thickness insufficient to resist ordinary ironing pressures without yield, having a series of uniformly distributed relatively small deformations out of the normal plane of the sheet, said deformations serving to stiffen said sheet against bending in areas equal to that of an ordinary iron, and two longitudinally disposed ribs, said ribs being connected to said sheet substantially parallel to its central longitudinal axis to stifien said sheet against longitudinal bending under normal ironing loads.

HORACE B. FAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Greulich Feb. 20, 1945 

